Thailand #30
Restaurants:
Just have to describe many of the restaurants in Thailand. In smaller villages, if you have a house that opens on a street, you just need to put a couple tables near the street and fill a half barrel with charcoal & poof...you have a restaurant. How handy...you just serve whatever you cook for your family. Maybe I should try that on Dancer Road!!! In the bigger towns, you can set up on any street...in front of any store...even 7/ll and clean fancy restaurants...you just need a propane tank, an enormous pan, various size dishes of whatever and you got yourself a restaurant. Chairs & tables are optional. Our guidebook says they are safe to eat at...and Rog has done that several times but I much prefer going into 7/ll.
Back in Bangkok--Puppet Show:
Goodbye beach--Hello Bangkok! We arrived back just in time to catch the Aksra Puppet Show and what a delight!! Ornately decorated puppets about 3 ft. tall were gracefully made to dance by three performers creating scenes from long ago with fabulous backgrounds. All together there were 7 scenes which included cock fights, kick boxing, Buddha worship, romantic encounter ,Hindu goddess worship , an elaborate carnival... and the funniest was the monkey gods who after performing came out to play with the audience. Music, lighting & other stage effects made it most entertaining. (Sorry Elsi you had to missed it--you would have been pinching yourself until you were black & blue!!)
The Well:
Their website: http://www.servantworks.com/well
We had arranged to meet Cori who was introduced to us via email by Matt & Heather Hook. They work for a ministry called The Well that is trying to help girls caught in the sex trade find a better life. Cori is an Idaho farm girl and she spent most of the afternoon showing us around The Well...sewing, jewelry, painting, classrooms. We also had the privilege to meet Jim & Judy Larson from Chicago who are the founders. We had quite an in depth discussion about what needs to happen in Thailand to reduce the sex trade situation without changing the many wonderful things about the Thai culture. They certainly have a grand and long range vision for the future. The long and short of it is that somehow the farmers need to make more money so they can provide food & education for their families. Currently, their daughters often go to big cities to make money to send home...and since they have limited education & skills...the sex trade gobbles them up. What a tragedy...
So after offering to help in anyway we could, we were asked to travel with Cori & Jup (Thai minister) & a local nurse to upcountry village...we aren't sure where or how long or for sure how we are getting there but...off we go. As we said in India--Take a Leap of Faith and See the Journey!!
Where else would you see...
-toilet paper used for napkins??
-taxi motorcycles...roaring down the sidewalk?
-sundresses with Fun in the Snow stitched on it?
Misspellings:
We are always getting a kick out of the many misspellings & unusual wording used but after noticing how we mispronounce many Thai words, we thought maybe we misspell a lot of words from other countries based on how we pronounce them. So maybe we shouldn't laugh.
Restaurants:
Just have to describe many of the restaurants in Thailand. In smaller villages, if you have a house that opens on a street, you just need to put a couple tables near the street and fill a half barrel with charcoal & poof...you have a restaurant. How handy...you just serve whatever you cook for your family. Maybe I should try that on Dancer Road!!! In the bigger towns, you can set up on any street...in front of any store...even 7/ll and clean fancy restaurants...you just need a propane tank, an enormous pan, various size dishes of whatever and you got yourself a restaurant. Chairs & tables are optional. Our guidebook says they are safe to eat at...and Rog has done that several times but I much prefer going into 7/ll.
Back in Bangkok--Puppet Show:
Goodbye beach--Hello Bangkok! We arrived back just in time to catch the Aksra Puppet Show and what a delight!! Ornately decorated puppets about 3 ft. tall were gracefully made to dance by three performers creating scenes from long ago with fabulous backgrounds. All together there were 7 scenes which included cock fights, kick boxing, Buddha worship, romantic encounter ,Hindu goddess worship , an elaborate carnival... and the funniest was the monkey gods who after performing came out to play with the audience. Music, lighting & other stage effects made it most entertaining. (Sorry Elsi you had to missed it--you would have been pinching yourself until you were black & blue!!)
The Well:
Their website: http://www.servantworks.com/well
We had arranged to meet Cori who was introduced to us via email by Matt & Heather Hook. They work for a ministry called The Well that is trying to help girls caught in the sex trade find a better life. Cori is an Idaho farm girl and she spent most of the afternoon showing us around The Well...sewing, jewelry, painting, classrooms. We also had the privilege to meet Jim & Judy Larson from Chicago who are the founders. We had quite an in depth discussion about what needs to happen in Thailand to reduce the sex trade situation without changing the many wonderful things about the Thai culture. They certainly have a grand and long range vision for the future. The long and short of it is that somehow the farmers need to make more money so they can provide food & education for their families. Currently, their daughters often go to big cities to make money to send home...and since they have limited education & skills...the sex trade gobbles them up. What a tragedy...
So after offering to help in anyway we could, we were asked to travel with Cori & Jup (Thai minister) & a local nurse to upcountry village...we aren't sure where or how long or for sure how we are getting there but...off we go. As we said in India--Take a Leap of Faith and See the Journey!!
Where else would you see...
-toilet paper used for napkins??
-taxi motorcycles...roaring down the sidewalk?
-sundresses with Fun in the Snow stitched on it?
Misspellings:
We are always getting a kick out of the many misspellings & unusual wording used but after noticing how we mispronounce many Thai words, we thought maybe we misspell a lot of words from other countries based on how we pronounce them. So maybe we shouldn't laugh.
